Chess puts republic on the map

Published time: 29 Oct, 2008 21:00Edited time: 30 Oct, 2008 00:00

The President of Kalmykia, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, had a dream to make his tiny homeland in Russia’s southern steppes the chess centre of the world. Ilyumzhinov, who is a passionate chess player, president of the FIDE world chess association, a billionaire and so far the only president of Kalmykia, has put a lot of effort into making it come true. Today the game is everywhere in the republic’s capital, Elista.